Portable crane.



No. 697,686. Patented Apr. l5, I902.

G. F. SPEER.

PORTABLE CRANE.

(Application filed June 22, 1901.

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(No Model.)

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Patented Apr. I5, I902.

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No. 697,686. 7 Patented Apr. I5, I902.

G. F. SPEER.

PORTABLE CRANE. (Applicati on filed June 22, 1901.

3 Sheets-Sli'eet 3 (No Model.)

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9 4L. EE" F llnTTEn STATES PATENT @FFICE.

GEORGE F. SPEER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

PORTABLE ORAN E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 697,686, dated April 15, 1902.

Application filed June 22, 1901- To all 1072/0722, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, GEORGE F. SPEER, acitizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Cranes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

Myinvention relates to a portable crane designed for use upon railways, and more particularly intended for service in loading railway-cars, the construction being such that the hoisting apparatus is capable of telescoping outwardly and inwardly within a frame, so that the objects hoisted by the crane may be delivered through the door of a freight-car to place them in the car.

Myiuvention consists in features of novelty hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure I is a view in side elevation and partly in vertical section of the crane. Fig. II is a front elevation. Fig. III is a view, partly in plan, of the truck of the frame and the parts mounted thereon, the crane-post being-shown in horizontal section. Fig. IV is an enlarged end elevation looking at the rear of the crane at the top thereof. Fig. V is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on line V V, Fig. I. Figs. VI, VII, and VIII are cross-sectional views of one of the valves that control the passage of air into the pipes by which it is conducted to the crane-cylinders.

l designates a truck-frame having a platform 2 and mounted on wheels 3, adapted to travel on the railway-rails A. On a shaft 41:, mounted in the truck-frame 1, is a toothed wheel 5, that is geared by a chain 6 to a toothed wheel 7 on the axle of one of the truck-wheels 3. Fixed to the shaft 4 are pulleys 8 and 9.

1O designates an engine of any suitable class, preferably gasolene, the driven shaft 11 of which is mounted in bearing-standards 12, supported by the truck. The shaft 11 is equipped with a fly-wheel 13 and pulleys 14:, 15, and 16, from which power is communicated to drive the parts, as hereinafter specified. A straight belt 17 is applied to the pulley 15 and passes around the pulley 8 on the Serial No. 65,613. (No model.)

shaft 4 to drive said shaft, and a crossed belt (not shown) is applied to the pulley 14 and passes around the pulley 9 on the shaft 4:. By use of the straight and crossed belts referred to power is communicated from the engine-shaft 11 to the shaft 4 to impart rotation to said shaft at in either direction, so that the chain (inlay be caused to travel in either direction and rotate the axle to which the toothed wheel 7 is applied and cause the truck to be moved in a forward or backward direction on the track-rails, as desired.

The pulley 16 on the shaft 11 receives a belt 18, that leads to tight and loose pulleys 19 and 20 on the shaft 21 of an air-compressor 22, mounted on the truck-platform 2, the belt 18 being designed to furnish power to oper ate said air-compressor. The air compressed in the air-compressor 22 passes therefrom through a pipe 23 to a reservoir 24, in which the compressed air is stored.

4 25 is a compressed -air-conducting pipe connected to the pipe 23 and provided with a valve 26.

27 is a tubular post mounted on the truckplatform 2 and through which the air-conducting pipe 25 extends in an upwardly direction. The pipe 25 is constructed in sections and is united within the post 27 by a swivel union 25, (see Figs. I and V,) so that the uppermost portion of said pipe iscapable of rotation respecting the lowermostportion there of. The air-conducting pipe 25 extends to the upper. end of the post 27 and passes from the interior of the post to the exterior thereof and has connected to it a downwardlyextendingpipe-leg 28, that leads to two branch pipes 29, which enter valve-housings 30, containing valves 31, said valves and housing being shown in detail in Figs. VI to VIII, in elusive. The valve-housings 30 have connected to them air-conveying pipes that will be hereinafter described.

32 designates a bearing-cap that fits over the upper end of the post 27 and contains vertically arranged antifriction rollers 33, that bear against the vertical face of said post at its upper end, and also antifriction-balls 31, on which the bearing-cap 32 rests and revolves. The bearing-cap 32 carries a pair of uprights 35. (See Figs. IV and V.)

36 designates beams fixed to the uprights 35, against the interior faces thereof. Slidably located within the uprights 35 is a pair of channel beams or carriers 37, that are slidably positioned on supporting-rollers 38, having their shafts journaled in the beams 36.

39 designates a pusher-cylinder fixed to the beams or carriers 37 and adapted to impart longitudinal movement to said carriers, as will hereinafter appear. The pusher-cylinder 39 contains a piston 40, (see Fig. I,) that is carried bya piston-rod 4l,which extends through a stuffing-box in the rearend of said cylinder and is connected to a cross-bar 42, attached to the beams 36, the parts being so disposed that the pusher-cylinder is capable of longitudinal movement with respect to the piston 40 and its rod, which are held in a fixed position, the pressure medium for the actuation of said pusher-cylinder being admitted thereto in the manner hereinafter set forth.

43 designates a hoist-cylinder fixed to the beams or carriers 37, as illustrated in Fig. V, and adapted to move with said carriers. Within the hoist-cylinder 43 is a piston 44, carried by a piston-rod 45, that extends through the forward end of said cylinder and is provided with a hook 46, that receives a hoisting-chain 47, which passes over a sheave 48, mounted in the carriers 37 and by which the load to be moved in the operation of the crane is lifted and carried. Fixed to the beams 36 is a pair of angle guides or retainers 49, that receive guide-rollers 50, carried by the carriers 37 and serve to prevent the upward movement of the rear end of said carriers and the cylinders carried thereby that would otherwise occur in the lifting of a load carried by the hoisting-chain 47.

51 and 52 designate pipes connected to one of the pair of valve-housings 30 and extend upwardly therefrom, and connected to these pipes are hose-sections 53 and 54. The hoseseotion 53 leads to a pipe 55, that is connected to the forward end of the pusher-cylinder 39 and through which compressed air passes from said valve-housing to the forward end of said pusher-cylinder to admit the pressure medium in front of the piston 40 and cause said pusher-cylinder to be moved outwardly and move therewith the carriers 37, so that said carriers are shifted on their supportingrollers 38, and the hoisting-chain-receiving sheave 48 is carried outwardly, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. I, therebyincreasing the length of the crane and permitting the deposit of the article lifted at a greater distance from the axis of the crane than that at which y it was picked up. The hose-section 54 is con- 57 and 58 are pipes connected to the second valve-housing 30 to receive the compressed air entering said housing from the pipe-leg 28, and joined to the pipe 57 is ahose-section 59, that leads to a pipe 61, which enters the forward end of the hoist-cylinder 43 and delivers pressure medium into said cylinder in front of the piston 44 therein to operate said piston in a rearward direction and to exert a pull on the hoisting-chain 47 to lift the load to be moved by the crane. The pipe 58 has joined to ita hose-section 60, that is connected to apipe 62, Whichleads to the rear end of the hoist-cylinder 43 and provides for the introduction of pressure medium at said end of the cylinder, so that said pressure medium may exert power against the rear of the piston 44 to move said piston forwardly in its cylinder.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the cylinders 39 and 43 being both connected to the carriers 37 they both travel with said carriers when they are moved with the pusher-cylinder 39 and that the relative positions of said cylinders always remains the same. Therefore when a load is picked up by the hoistingchain 47 it is maintained at a uniform elevation when the carriers 37 are moved out- Wardly.

To provide for the steadying of the revolving crane members on the post 27, I utilize a frame composed of upright bars 63, that are joined to a pair of rings 64, which encircle the post at the lower end thereof and have journaled in them rollers 65, which travel on the post.

66 and 6,7 are bars that connect the upright bars 63 to the forward ends of the vertical plates 36.

68 designates swinging arms mounted on the truck-frame 1 and adapted to be swung outwardly therefrom to receive jacks placed thereunder by which the crane may be elevated from the track-rails A, if desired.

I claim as my invention 1. In a crane, the combination of a horizontally-mounted support, a carrier telescopingly positioned within said support, hoisting means mounted on said carrier, and means for moving said carrier telescopingly within said support, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a crane, the combination of a horizontally-mounted support, a carrier telescopingly positioned within said support, hoisting means mounted on said carrier, means for moving said carrier telescopingly within said support, and means mounted on said support adapted to prevent the tilting of said carrier when its forward end is projected beyond the forward end of the support, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a crane, the combination of a reciprocating carrier, means for supporting said carrier, a hoist-cylinder mounted on said carrier, a lift piston and rod arranged to operate in said cylinder,.a reciprocating pusher-cylinder fixed to said carrier and adapted to impart movement to the carrier, and a fixed piston and piston-rod on which said'pusher-cylinder travels, substantially as described.

4. In a crane, the combination of a reciprocating carrier, means for supporting said carrier, a hoist-cylinder mounted on said carrier, a lift piston and rod arranged to operate in said hoist-cylinder, a reciprocating pushercylinder fixed to said carrier and adapted to travel therewith, a piston in said pusher-cylinder, and a piston-rod by which said lastnamed piston is connected to said carriersupport, substantially as described.

5. In a crane, the combinationof a pair of rotatably-mounted beams, a pair of carriers reciprocally mounted between said beams, a pusher-cylinder fixed to said carriers and adapted to move therewith, a piston in said pusher-cylinder, a piston-rod having a fixed connection to said beams and to which said piston is connected, a hoisting-cylinder fixed to said carriers and arranged to move therewith, a piston in said hoist-cylinder, and a lifting piston-rod carried by said last-named piston, substantially as described.

valves in said housings, pipes leading from said valve-housing, a carriersupport, a reciprocating carrier mounted on said support, a pusher-cylinder attached to said carrier and to which a portion of said pipes lead, and a hoist-cylinder to which the remainder of said pipes lead, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of June, 1901.

GEO. F, SPEER.

In presence of- E. S. KNIGHT, M. P. SMITH. 

